Breaking its silence on the U.S. decision to announce a $10 million bounty for the arrest and conviction of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, Pakistan on Wednesday evening said it would prefer to receive concrete evidence to proceed legally in the matter instead of engaging in a public discussion on this issue.
In a statement issued here to a slew of queries on the bounty announcement, the Foreign Office said: “In a democratic country like Pakistan, where the judiciary is independent, evidence against anyone must withstand judicial scrutiny.”
As for Saeed, he remained gung-ho — sarcastically seeking the bounty for himself at a crowded press conference in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, while the JuD has decided to approach the court to seek protection for him under the Constitution.
He warned India of dire consequences for its illegal occupation of Kashmir ,adding, it would be forced to leave the territory soon. Giving India MFN status is not correct in any way because there are already big issues that have not been resolved; including the Kashmir issue, he added.He further said that dams were being built by India on Pak rivers that would create a water crisis in Pakistan. India alongwith Israel and US, he said had been working on a strategy to counter the freedom movement in Held Kashmir. Terming the role of Kashmir Committee as disappointing, he said: ‘the statement of the Committee Chairman about trade with India is unacceptable’ He said that India would face the music for its acts of violence in Held Kashmir.Rejecting western democratic way of government, he said: ‘We should adopt Islamic political system instead’. Responding to a query about International aid, he said: ‘The US and the West have been using the International monetary institutions for their vested interests’.saeed made the remarks while adressing a news
conference with other leaders of the Defa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) at Flashman Hotel in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, located a short distance from the Pakistan Army's General Headquarters.
This is his first press conference after American administration offered a reward of 10 million dollars for him on Monday.
He even taunted the US to give him the bounty offered for him under the Rewards for Justice programme, saying he would inform American authorities about his whereabouts.
"I am not hiding in caves and mountains, I am here in Rawalpindi," he said.
Saeed offered to make public his itinerary for the next few days, saying he intended to travel to Narowal in Punjab later in the day and then go to Lahore on Thursday.
He even claimed that if the US gave him the bounty, he would use the money in the impoverished province of Balochistan and account for its expenditure.
Reiterating his claim that the JuD and its workers had no links to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, he contended that there was no evidence against him.
He dismissed allegations about his involvement in terrorism as "Indian claims that are part of media propaganda".Saeed further clarified that Pakistan's Supreme Court had upheld an order of the Lahore high court that cleared him and his organisation" after the interior minister had approached the apex court."The JuD is a relief organisation working across Pakistan and there are no restrictions on it,
It is unfortunate that the US does not accept Pakistani courts. It is not even ready to accept Pakistan. The US is today bowing before India and speaking its language," he said.
Saeed pledged to continue the DPC's movement to prevent the reopening of Nato supply routes to Afghanistan, claiming such a move would allow the US and India to increase their "interference" in Pakistan.
"The US has become blind due to its hatred for Islam... My death will be decided by Allah and not the US," he said.
Saeed said no one from the government had contacted him regarding the US bounty though it was the duty of the administration to look after all Pakistani citizens.
DPC chief Sami-ul-Haq said the foreign ministry's silence on the US bounty for Saeed was deplorable.
Haq, often described as the "father of the Afghan Taliban", said the DPC would continue its protests against the US and not give in to any pressure.
The US state department has included Saeed, also the founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, among the five most wanted terrorists.
Saeed's case is unusual as he is not in hiding, unlike the other wanted men, including al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar.
After the news of the US bounty broke in Pakistan, Saeed appeared on talk shows on most of the leading Pakistani news channels on Tuesday night.
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